A Look At The Good Doctor’s Shaun Murphy’s 5 Best Moments
On Tuesday, May 21, the ABC drama The Good Doctor aired its series finale, marking Freddie Highmore's ultimate retirement from the show after seven seasons.
A look at The Good Doctor’s Shaun Murphy’s 5 best moments from the medical drama series ( Photo Credit – IMDb )
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On Tuesday, May 21, the ABC drama The Good Doctor aired its series finale, marking Freddie Highmore’s ultimate retirement from the show after seven seasons. The Good Doctor is an American medical drama television series based on the 2013 South Korean series of the same name. Freddie Highmore plays the role of Shaun Murphy, a young surgical resident with autism at the fictional San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.
Even though Dr. Shaun Murphy (Highmore) was shown to be an exceptionally talented surgeon, fans of The Good Doctor also know him as a charming, pertinent guy who continually proved himself to the San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital staff while learning life lessons throughout his career.
While the beloved doctor gave numerous heartfelt moments throughout the series, here are our top five favorite Shaun Murphy moments from the series.
As early as the season pilot’s triggering incident, we learned that Dr. Shaun Murphy was indeed a gifted doctor with incredible capabilities. In the episode, a smashed plate glass window rendered a small boy unconscious. Shaun not only got the other doctor on the scene to redirect the boy so he could breathe, but he also devised a device using a bottle of alcohol, a straw, and a knife that was taken from the TSA that prevented the boy from dying. That’s when Shaun showed that he’s a damn decent doctor, despite his awkward encounters.
The fatal stomach ache
Shaun experiences alot of problems at the medical center because of his keen attention to detail and inability to make a diagnosis. In Episode 2, he spent thousands of hospital dollars conducting tests on patients to rule out possibilities, but it was his devotion to young Martine’s (Britt Loder) stomachache that ultimately saved her life. After finding her at home, he informed her parents that there was a significant problem with her, and without his presence, she would have passed away.
An atypical surgery by an atypical doctor
Shaun’s cases are not always life-or-death situations; in fact, his intervention in the case of a young porn star (Sara Waisglass) saved her future sexual life. What appeared to be a boil on her labia turned out to be a cyst encasing the entire nerve. Removing it would mean taking away any emotions from her genitalia, which is almost a death sentence for someone who has turned their passion for sex into a career. Perhaps the last person you would think would have the solution to keep a young girl’s sexual life intact is Shaun, but he manages to salvage her profession and her ability to enjoy close companionship for the rest of her life.
The doctor’s romantic confession
Clearly anxious after breaking up with Carly, Shaun finds the confidence to confess his feelings for Lea (Paige Spara). The confession however did not go as one hoped since Lea decided to turn him down because of Shaun’s condition, leaving him in tears.
“I want to smash your car up,” he said tearfully, adding, “I want to hurt you the way you hurt me. … You acted like you cared about me but didn’t even respect me. You’re flaky, can’t keep a boyfriend, can’t keep a job, and no one likes you. You’re going to end up alone — and you deserve it — because you’re a superficial, selfish, and prejudiced person!”
The tragic incident paved the way for Lea to overcome her biases. The two eventually went on to date and were married on a rooftop at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital at the end of season five.
Hannah’s moment of clarity
The Good Doctor had its poignant moments as it drew towards an end. In the final episode titled “Unconditional,” Dr. Glassman(Richard Schiff) goes rogue and jeopardizes his career by trying to handle Hannah’s (Ruby Kelley) heroin addiction on his own.
As Hannah struggled with her addiction and considered leaving the house where she was residing, Shaun discovered Hannah. He explained to her how Dr. Glassman significantly influenced his life.
“I’m not like other people. Other kids called me weird. My parents didn’t want me. So, that was how I saw myself,” he added. “But Dr. Glassman saw that I could be more. Now, I see myself as much more because Dr. Glassman loved me unconditionally. I am still different. I will always have autism, but now I’m proud of that. You will always be an addict even if you stop using drugs, but Dr. Glassman sees you can be more. Why can’t you?”
His motivational remarks, which completed The Good Doctor, gave Hannah clarity. Later, in a scene where she was sitting in the middle of a table and fighting the urge to take medication, she told Dr. Glassman she was ready to check herself into rehab.
